Flowers for the Dead
by kysis-the-bard
Summary: Aeris helps Zack cope with the loss of a loved one. Spoilers. No romance. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own CCFF7, FF7, the world, the characters, the plot of said games, etc. I just write this fics.

**Warnings:** reference to character death, spoilers, Aeris, sadness, etc.

**Author's Note:** Oh bugger off, I really like Aeris. Well, how she was portrayed in FF7 and AC. This is my rendition of her from the storyline of one of my other fics. You'll have to guess which one. I don't want to spoil anything for those.

**FLOWERS FOR THE DEAD**

Sunlight streamed in through the hole in the rafters, glimmering a bright golden. It pooled on the sea of flowers beneath it, white pedals and vibrant green leaves swimming in radiance. They all seemed to stand up straighter, reach up for that light, soft and warm, which gave each of the flowers life.

Anywhere else, she might have heard flowers chirping. She might have heard other animals skittering about.

This was Midgar, though. The big, imposing bowl of the sky was hidden by the thick layer of smog and the upper plate, and yet, since the city was not yet completed, precious sun still made it through. It was a miracle, really. Everywhere else was so dark, so lonely and depressed, suppressed, and here, everything felt… _free_.

Smiling faintly, she stood from where she knelt on the ground, dusting dirt off her knees.

The flowers were beautiful, and she wanted to share them, but in this mechanical jungle, who would buy them? People would not cherish them so much if they were given away for free. Aeris would hate to see the flowers discarded in a muddy ditch, or just tossed unlovingly to the side. They needed to be cherished.

Sighing, she tidied up the patch, checking pedals here, leaves there, watering where needed. That done, she put the little, dinted watering can to the side, dusting her hands though they were clean.

Nodding to herself, she headed to the back of the chapel, going through the door. She had a make-shift bedroom set up in there. She wasn't tired. After tending to her flowers, she never was; if anything she felt more rejuvenated.

The main doors ground open, and she tensed, if only for a moment, listening. The gait she heard was broken, weighed down. She could feel the sadness radiating off of that walk even from there, in the back with the door closed.

The flowers were weeping.

Pursing her lips, straightening the red bow in her hair, she slid out through the small gap she opened in the door. She skittered behind a column, leaning around it just slightly.

It was Zack.

She almost ran to him, right then and there, but then she noticed the blood. She noticed the massive sword, not his own, sitting to the side. Something was terribly wrong. The flowers, they were not weeping for him, but with him. She could see the tears from there.

Her lip wobbled, and she had to suck in a deep breath to stop herself from succumbing to sobs as well. The feeling was so overwhelming. Every tendril of her being, every cell, could feel it.

This must have been how all Cetra felt.

Clutching a hand to her breast, closing her bright emerald eyes, she collected herself, walking around the back side of the column, along the old wooden pews. Zack did not seem to notice her walking up behind him. That was fine. He was lost in his sorrow, and it was not her place to pull him out of it. That was something he would have to do for himself. She could only lend her support.

Aeris fell to her knees, their thumping hard on the wooden planks. She breathed a sigh when Zack remained curled up on himself. Taking a deep breath, she flung her arms around his shoulder's squeezing. He looked up just slightly then, black spikes bobbing. His mako bright eyes were clouded with tears, face streaked.

"I… I loved him… Oh, Gaia, I loved him." Zack's shoulders shook. His voice was thick with sorrow, fear, apology.

There was no need to apologize.

"I know." Her answer was sweet, simple. It did not carry any of the same sadness. It was acceptance. "I love all of Gaia's people equally, just as I love all the birds, the trees, the flowers the same, even if they can't love me back." There was a soft smile on her lips.

Zack leaned back into her arms, closing his eyes. The tense of his shoulders loosened, and he sagged heavily against her, like she might be the last thing in the world. And for now, that was fine. He needed the support, and Aeris would give it, even if he had never really cared about her until it was convenient.

It was her place as a Cetra, the last Cetra, to be that sort of guidance for everyone.

Now was not the time to tell him, but Aeris knew she would some time. Her eyes focused on the flowers. They were glowing extra bright, though they looked wilted, bent in mourning. She would tell him he could take some of the flowers to the grave when he was ready.


End file.
